Any views on Ryobi 18v impact driver?

Screwfix have a kit with a Ryobi 18v (one+) combo drill and an impact driver with two batteries, charger and bag for £100. Seems good value but are the tools Ok?

Reply to
dennis
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It happens that dennis@home formulated :

Yes, pretty good for the money.

Reply to
Harry Bloomfield

They are a mediochre brand manufactured by Tecthtronics International, a Chinese company. Ryobi is better than their Power Devil and AEG brands but not as good as Milwaukee which they also make.

I have looked at and handled Ryobi drills. They do not feel solid and precise and the mechanisms seem quite clunky.

Makita or Bosch would be much better choices in terms of build quality and usability.

Reply to
Andy Hall

The impact driver feels very solid. Yes, I went and spent some cash.

The drill is much lighter and has less metal.

But rather more in cash terms and I am not going into business.

Reply to
dennis

Must be a bit of crossover in products now as we ordered a Milwaukee core drill but it arrived as an AEG (Identical unit).

Makita yes and Blue Bosch definately.

I still have a 7.2v Makita drill, bought oh, must be 20 years ago now (long slim battery that slid up inside the handle like a pistol magazine) and it is still going strong and the original batteries still give 1/2 an hour drilling (NiCd's). Very useful for tight spaces.

Reply to
Jeff

Exactly. That has a number of implications.

Who said anything about going into business? There is a lot more to a purchase than the initial outlay.

Reply to
Andy Hall

Exactly. That has a number of implications.

Who said anything about going into business? There is a lot more to a purchase than the initial outlay.

Reply to
Andy Hall

Modern version is excellent.

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Reply to
The Medway Handyman

There's also your budget to consider, something you always seem to forget - being a rich bloke I assume. Makita or Bosch are a great choice for full time users but overkill for occcassional DIY use. Ryobi is a good mid range price machine ideal for DIY use.

Bought a Ryobi SDS t'other day as a 'clean' SDS to take into peoples houses for lintels etc, Wickes SDS does the dirty work like light breaking. The Ryobi is a nice solid machine that performs well and was £40 on a Screwfix offer.

Couldn't possibly justify £100 on a second machine, can justify £40.

Reply to
The Medway Handyman

So a playing around with product volumes and positioning.

When Milwaukee was manufactured in the U.S. it was one of a small number of quality and rugged tools for contractors.

Since Atlas Copco sold them to TTI in 2005 amid a lot of hype about improving market share for Milwaukee, very little has been said about that.

In TTI's interim annual report for 2007 they admit that their power equipment business has declined by nearly 6% (which is a great deal in the business) yet represents nearly 70% of TTI's revenue. They go on to talk about the Ryobi brand and One+ system. That really is a yawn because other manufacturers have been using this concept for years.

In other words, there is a range consolidation exercise going on.

More interestingly, they spend a great deal of time talking about their acquisition of Hoover.

Finally, they announced what amounts to a corporate restructuring and appointment of a new CEO in January. hardly surprising when their stock price has halved in the last year.

Reply to
Andy Hall

Go for it! The Ryobi is excellent. Well made as does what they say. The ONE+ batteries are top quality and have Panasonic cells.

Reply to
Doctor Drivel

Actually not. One needs to take into account all of the factors when considering a budget. That needs to include time taken when doing work as well as time taken if items need to be serviced or replaced. In other words it is the lifetime cost that matters, not just the purchase price.

That makes no sense at all. It is assuming that because the application is "DIY" that there is not the need for quality tools in terms of usability, accuracy and speed of working. Time is not free and "DIY" does not equate to an excuse for crappy tools, materials and outcome.

This is illogical as well. You are currently charging £45 as the starting hour rate including travel. If you need to buy two of the £40 drills in the same period of time that a £100 DeWalt or Bosch would last, you will have spent two lots of £40 plus waste of an hour effecting the replacement. That scenario is highly probable and as (almost) always, buying the cheap thing is a false economy.

Reply to
Andy Hall

They are rated light to medium trade.

They are really taking off as a brand and in sales too.

Reply to
Doctor Drivel

Matt, but none of them market it like Ryobi do. Others have it as a sideline you have to ask about. The best marketed one battery system is the Ryobi ONE+

Reply to
Doctor Drivel

Best marketed. Possibly true. They spend enough on advertising. However, when one looks at the range of products meant to use this system, half aren't worth having as a function.

Ergo, it really isn't that big a deal.

Reply to
Andy Hall

I'd agree with that. I've given a 14.4 ryobi drill plus angle drill with two batteries and a good fast charger a fair old hammering over the past few years, although I did just replace one set of cells. I also have a mains standard impact drill which has been fine, also a small petrol strimmer. Not De Walt, but I'd rate them for the reasonably serious DIYer who can't claim tax relief.

Reply to
newshound

But those costs don't enter into the equation for DIY users. Diy enthusiasts don't cost out their time like tradesmen have to. As to lifetime cost, thats relevant for trade users but not for DIY users.

I remember reading that the first DIY electric drills from Black & Decker and Stanley Bidges had a motor life of an hour. The theory was that, for example, putting up a set of shelves would involve drilling 24 holes, each taking maybe 10 seconds to drill, or 4 mins out of a total motor life of 60 mins

For the average Barry Bucknell DIY guy that meant his drill would last him

5 - 10 years.

You miss the point. DIY time is 'free' in the mind of a DIY enthusiast. A reasonably priced power tool that enables a DIY guy to do a job he could not have done without it fufills a need. It may not be as nice to use, be quite as accurate or last as long as a top brand, but that doesn't matter.

Some power tools are a 'luxury' purchase for the DIY guy. A biscuit joiner that enables him to build a one off kitchen. An SDS that means he can hang those 4 curtain poles.

Not so. The Ryobi I bought is intended only for use in 'clean' areas like fitting curtain poles in lounges with white carpets & silk wallpaper. It will be used infrequently because the Wickes/Kress SDS does all the heavy dirty work. I estimate it will be used 3 or 4 times a month for short periods - half a dozen holes in a lintel each time.

My justification for buying it is based on customer service - I take my boots off, my hop up rests on a dust sheet, I use a nice clean drill with a nice clean cable, that doesn't look like a refugee from a building site & doesnt leave a dirty mark on the carpet. Thats worth £40 to me as I work regularly for a couple of up market curtain desingers. Its a 'luxury' purchase.

So, useage actually around 4 mins a month - I reckon it will outlast me. Not dissimilar to DIY use really. A DIY guy with his first SDS will use it for a few hours, then it sits in the box for 6 months until the next project starts.

Horses for courses Andy. Tools that I use every day I'm willing to invest in. Tools used occassionally as a luxury I need to justify & wait for a special offer.

Reply to
The Medway Handyman

Nail, hit, head there matey. I can justify spending a little extra for a tool I use every day because Golden Brown is paying for some of it, DIY people can't.

Reply to
The Medway Handyman

Pah - you youngun! My dad's first power drill was a ¼" Bridges - before any connection with this 'Stanley' outfit. He had sanding disks (rigid and flexible), polishing mops, a drill stand and a saw table as accessories.

I burnt it out using a holesaw of about 2" through a bit of (ISTR) ¾" chipboard, ages ago, fortunately when Dad was away at sea!

I.m talking some 35-40 years ago...

Reply to
Frank Erskine

Absolutely they do.

Certainly they do. Time is not free.

That's also not correct.

That's really a put down of DIY that is not justified.

I'm not at all, you are.

No it isn't.

Yes it does matter.

Step back for a moment and consider the motivations for DIY. There are many, but I'll list a few:

a) To do work at a lower initial cash outlay than it would take to employ professionals to do the jobs

b) To get the work done when professionals are not available either at all or at suitable timescales or with other logistical factors

c) To achieve specific results that professionals may not be willing or able to undertake - e.g. use of specific materials or techniques.

d) To achieve a better quality outcome than professionals are able or willing to do.

e) To be an alternative activity to the day job.

f) As a means to learn new skills

g) As part of something more specific - e.g. woodworking, furniture making to give one example.

This is quite a broad set of reasons and certainly goes beyond the simple minded model of comparing the purchase of materials and tools vs. employing a professional. Even for case (a), that is incorrect because some material costs can be amortised over several jobs, and the cost of tools certainly can, and even more so if they are of good quality with long life expectancy.

The factor of time can be accounted for in many different ways as well

1) Some people may choose not to account for their personal time at all - somewhat short sighted and ignoring the many motivations for DIY work. 2) Others may look at the money that they can make at the day job and if that exceeds the cost of employing a professional, then employ the professional. 3) Yet others may take the opposite view - i.e. even though they can make more money at the day job, choose to do the work themselves for any or many of (b) to (g) above. 4) Where the individual chooses to spend their personal time on other things than DIY

So one might ask why, in looking at all of the motivations for DIY and then choosing to do work even though it's possible to make more money at the day job that time and good quality tools are important. The reasons for that are simple enough as well

- If my motivation to do work is because I can achieve a better result than a professional, the use of good quality tools can influence outcome

- If it's because I choose to spend my time doing work as opposed to employing a professional, even though the simple financial equation suggests using the professional, I want to maximise the use of my time to achieve the outcome. This means that I don't want to waste time on having to return and/or rebuy tools that are of poor quality.

- If I'm motivated because I enjoy the use of good quality tools in terms of precision, ergonomics and results, then I don't want to spoil that through the use of inferior products that will cause frustration in use.

Therefore, whether I choose to put a financial cost on time or a leisure cost on it, time has a great deal of value either way, and on both arguments one can justify the purchase of good quality tools and materials especially if done so over a period of time.

To limit the scope of the meaning of DIY to a short term comparison of cash outlay, and ignoring all other factors, does not present a true picture that applies to all participants and even for people who consider that (a) and (1) are the main motivating factors is a disservice even to them.

Again a sweeping generalisation. There are many reasons to purchase a biscuit joiner, or for that matter an SDS drill. For a situation that is a one off, there are tool rental places or one could even employ a professional or a handyman.

A Bosch would have been better and would have been more impressive to the designer's customers.

Wrong conclusion. You are assuming that DIY use equates to specific patterns of use.

You're kidding. My first significant project was the complete repair and refurbishment of a house including structural work, complete replacement of wiring and installation of central heating. At that time, SDS drills were not available (Bosch invented them around 1975). If they had been, this would have been an obvious purchase and a good quality one a clear decision.

Exactly. Equestrian sports involving courses do not consist simply of the Grand National. One also needs to consider that there is flat racing, dirt track, dressage, polo and so on. Therefore it is a mistake to assume that DIY automatically equates simply to short term apparent money saving without consideration of all factors and motivations.

I don't look at tool purchases in terms of it being necessary to use it every day. I tend to consider the likely number and type of projects over the lifetime of the tool. That includes whether or not the tool will positively affect the process of executing the projects, outcome and time taken. If that is at all unclear, I generally will not buy the tool. The options then are to rent a good quality tool or potentially to employ a professional. What I will not do is to buy some inferior product on the occasional use argument, especially if it appears that it will negatively affect projects and their outcome or has poor build quality.

Reply to
Andy Hall

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